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(No Model.)

J. W. BOARD, P. VREGARD & G. B. WIGGIN. APPARATUS PoR GARBURETING GAS 0R AIR.

UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE.

rJOHN W. HOARD, AND FREDERICK R. HOARD, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ANDVGEORGE B. WIGGIN, OF SOUTH NEW MARKET, N. H.

APPARATUS FOR CARBURETING'GAS OR AIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 244,387, dated July 19, 1881.

' Application filed April 19, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN W. BOARD and FREDERICK R. HOARD, both of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, and GEORGE B. WIGGIN, of South New Market, Rockingham county, and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Carbureting Gas or Air; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this speciiication.

We have discovered that the exposing of an unchanging surface for affording vaporization will not answer successfully where it is desired to use a variable number of burners at-differ ent times at option, because a variable amount of vaporization is necessary corresponding to the number of lights-Lin other words, correspondin g to the actual consumption of the carbureted gas or air for the time heilig; otherwise, as in existing methods, the vaporization which may be sufficient for, say, ten(10) burners would carburet to excess if a lesser number, or only one, were burning; and if alarger number-say twenty (20)-were burnin g at the sametime from the saine source of supply, there would be double the amount of gas passing over or to be carbureted by the same carbureting-surface in the same length of time, and the vapor which was before just suflicient for the ten (l0) burners would now be distributed to twice that number, and therefore the degree ofcarbureting would be but one-halt of what it was before, and altogether inadequate, and the light produced would be lessened or dimmed proportionately.

The object of our present invention is to have the amount of carbureting-surface variedl and controlled according to the number of lights and the amount of carbureted gas consumed, so as to produce as nearly as practicable in the same apparatus a uniform carbureting of the gas or air, whether the flow and the consumption be small or great.

The inventiomin general terms,may be stated to be a novel process of carbureting gas or air,

consisting in exposing to the flow of gas a constantly-renewed carburetin g-surface moistened with hydrocarbon, and in variably controlling or regulating the amount of carbureting-surface by the varying flow. of the gas.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section in the line x c@ of Fig. 2, and Fig. 2 a transverse vertical section in the line y y otl Fig. 1, of an apparatus serving to illustrate our invention.

1 and 2 represent an outside case. A indicates an inlet-passage for the gas or air to 'be carbureted, and B the outlet for the same after it has been carbureted. C is a bucket-wheel, each bucket (preferably about four in number on the same wheel) being provided with avalve, D, such that as the bucket passes into the liquid when the wheel revolves the valve will permit the bucket to ill without checking the motion of the wheel by reason of the resistance offered by the liquid.

The tube or gas-inlet A is stationary, and has one longitudinal opening or slot, a', as shown, and this slotted tube, around and upon which the bucket-Wheel revolves and is supported, may be called the inner case77 of a rotary valve, the tubular axis of the wheel being provided with as many corresponding slots, E E, as there are buckets-that is, one slot or opening for each bucket. This stationary tube and this revolving tube with their slots thus constitutea rotary valve.

The case 1 2 has, in addition to the chamber 3,in which the wheel revolves,two other sealed or closed chambers, 4 5, for holding and supplying the liquid hydrocarbon to the wheel case or chamber 3, and these may be filled through any appropriate mouth or hole, as at G; and

openings F F at the bottoms of these closed 9o Achambers allow the liquid to iiow from these chambers into the wheel-chamber, as desired. One reservoir-chamber, instead of two or more, may be sufcient in some cases; but it is well to have an ample supply of liquid hydrocarbon, especially as it is sealed up in the closed chambers and not exposed there to evaporation or to risk.

The operation is as follows: The gas enters tube A and passes out through its slot or opening a' to and through one of thc slots E of a bucket, and lifts such. bucket above the liquid,

IDG

the bucket rising with its surface moistened with the liquid, and this liquid so spread out on this surface being in the most favorable condition for vaporization and for being taken up by and for carbureting the gas. As the Wheel thus revolves the same action is repeated with each bucket as its slot reaches the slot a. Now, when a small number of burners are lighted, the amount of gas owin g through the apparatus will cause the wheel to revolve slowly, and consequently each bucket is not raised frequently from the liquid to present its moistened surface to the gas entering the bucket; but every additional burner that is lighted increases the amount of gas flowing through the machine in a given time and causes the Wheel to revolve just so much faster, and thus presents to this increased amount of iowing gas the requisite additional amouutof Wet or moistened surface.

When the machine is not in operation the surface of liquid exposed for vaporization is very small indeed, as the buckets which are then immersed almost entirely cover or arch over its surface. By letting the liquid enter the valve D of each bucket and partly ll the bucket beforethe open end ofthe bucket reaches the liquid any resistance which might other wise be offered by the liquid to the revolution of the wheel is almost entirely obviated, and thus the flow of gas is sufficient to revolve the Wheel, even when only one or two burners are lighted. When more gas flows to supply more burners, and the wheel consequently makes more revolutions in a given time, the amount of moistened surface presented to the gas in the same time is increased proportionately, so that, as heretofore stated, the amount of vaporizing-sur'face varies according to the amount of gas consumed and the amount of vaporization demanded. In other Words,the degree or extent of carburetin g is graduated, governed, or controlled by the amountvof the ovv of the gas, instead of having, as heretofore, a fixed or limited amount of carbureting-surface.

By our apparatus, or by any equivalent apparatus operating on the same principle, if vthe gas inlets and outlets be of su'fcient size, a large number of lights-say from one hundred t0 one thousand-could be supplied with gas or B. There is always about the same extent of 6o surface of liquid in the wheel pit and case. The top edges of the chambers 4 and 5 should be ground off and packed, or in some other appropriate way made tight, so that no vapor or liquid can get into the wheel-pit excepting through the small openings F F. The wheel turns in a direction to the right, as seen in Fig. 2. lhc motion of' the buckets when rising above the liquid favors evaporation.

It will be understood that the rapidity with which the cylinder revolves must be proportionate to and controlled by the gas-flow, the pressure of the gas, whatever it may be, bcing practically uniform.

lt will also be observed that the buckets when they rise from the liquid are equally moistened both inside and outside, giving a large area of evaporating-surface for a comparatively small-sized Wheel-pit.

Having fully described our invention, what we desire to claim, and to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A gas and air carburetor consisting of an outer case combined with an inner rotating cylinder composed of valved buckets constructed and operated substantially as illustrated and described.

2. ln a gas and air carburetor, the valved buckets, each having an axial opening, in combination with the slot-ted, hollow, central shaft and theinclosing-case, the combination being and operating substantially as set forth and described.

JOHN W. HOARD. FREDERICK It. HOARD. GEORGE B. WIGGIN. lWitnesses JOHN C. PURKIs, ALBERT FIELD, GILMAN E. J OPP. 

